Port Said — Egyptian Navy's New Home-made Gowind 2500-class Corvette

On September 6, 2018, The Egyptian Navy launched the first home-made Gowind 2500-class corvette – Port Said(Pennant number 976) – at Alexandria Shipyard (ASY) as part of a July 2014 €1 billion (US$ 1.16 billion) contract with France to upgrade the country's naval fleet for littoral operations. Separately, MBDA negotiated a contract to equip the ships with MICA Vertical Launch air-defense missiles and MM40 Block 3 Exocet anti-ship missiles, together worth an additional €400 million, while Naval Group negotiated a €100-200 million contract for torpedoes.

The contract for the first ship – El Fateh, which was launched in September 2017 (exactly, a year ago) – was awarded by the Egyptian Armament Authority to France-based Naval Group (DCNS) and was manufactured at its Lorient shipyard in the northwest of France. As per the contract, Egypt is inducting four Gowind 2,500-ton corvettes, with an option for two more.

Port Said is the outcome of that same contract for three follow-on ships to be built at ASY under a transfer of technology agreement which also includes material procurement contract for the overall project. It is the fifth ship designed by DCNS and to be operated by the Egyptian Navy, after the already delivered FREMM frigate Tahya Misr in 2015, the two Landing Helicopter Docks Nasser and Sadat in 2016 and, corvette El Fateh in 2017.

DCNS first announced the Gowind-class corvettes in 2006. Since the initial announcement, DCNS has enlarged the Gowind family to four corvettes with length from 85m to 105m and displacement from 1,000t to 2,500t.

ASY started cutting metal for the second Gowind corvette intended for the Egyptian Navy in April 2016, it is the first Corvette to be built locally in Egypt. DCNS sent supervision and technical assistance teams, technical data and necessary components to ASY. The company also provided training for the Egyptian staff at its site in Lorient.

The ship is equipped with Panoramic Sensors and Intelligence Modules (PSIM) which were produced and tested in Lorient by DCNS and later shipped to Alexandria for installation on the corvettes. PSIM combines the Strategic Energy Technologies Information System (SETIS) combat management system (CMS) with above-water prime sensors - SMART-S Mk 2 3D surveillance radar, and Vigile 200 Mk 3 electronic support measures (ESM). Besides that, it is also equipped with STIR EO Mk 2 radar/electro-optical tracker, CAPTAS-2 low frequency active variable depth sonar, and Kingklip hull-mounted sonar.

The ship supports special forces operations capabilities such as quick launch and recovery stern-launch system for two rigid inflatable boats (RIBs) or unmanned surface vehicles (USVs). For the aviation capabilities, it includes decking for a helicopter and unmanned air vehicles."The warship is aimed to enhance Egypt's naval capabilities in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, ensure safe maritime navigation and bolster the security of the Suez Canal", Ahmed Khaled, commander of the Egyptian Naval Forces said.

Prior to the launch of Port Said, DCNS's CEO Hervé Guillou announced the formation of the new Egyptian subsidiary to achieve a "permanent local presence in Egypt" to support on-going and future projects in the country.